This was the first of hopefully many Breakfast Club Runners night runs. Tom has a 12 hour night race coming up next week and wanted to get a long run in at night. A group of over ten of us ran varying distances, some as far as 25 miles. Since I'm just coming back, I only completed 3.5 miles. It was a difficult week for me in terms of recovery. I hoped to do a mid week run, but my legs were sore all week, even when I rested. The 3.5 miles last week at a face pace combined with all the walking I did over the weekend just beat my legs up. I was sore around my ankles and on the inside of my lower knees near the kneecap.
When I saw the concept of a night run, I couldn't pass it up. I love the night and running at night. I wish I was in better shape so I could've done the entire thing. Since I was only going to do a short leg, I agreed to crew as long as I was provided the supplies.
Tom got everything organized. We had a bit of a hiccup in that the cooler was so big it wouldn't fit in my car. I went home and got my parents SUV instead. That worked out well.
The run started from Scott Park in Easton. I agree to meet the group about nine miles out in Freemansburg and then run a short out and back. Since Angie didn't want to do the whole route, she started with them and finished up with me. The remainder of the group ran to Sand Island.
When I pulled up to wait for the group. I could tell things might get interesting. There were some loud people across the canal. They sounded drunk and at first I thought it was a group of teens partying. It turned out to be some drunk fishermen. Luckily, two of them left before our little group arrived. A couple pulled up to fish in the canal. I thought things would be dead, but apparently the Freemansburg Canal is the place to be on a Saturday night.
The one drunk left was a riot. He kept yelling stuff too us. He was such a mess that he actually feel off his bike at one point. Thankfully, he came by bike and not by car.
I was waiting for about hour for the group to come. It was really cool when they did approach with all their headlamps. That's one neat thing about night running. I saw the same thing only to a larger extent on the night trail race that I ran last fall.
After a brief rest at the SUV, we all got going and it was finally my chance to run. The inside of my knees really hurt early on. The uneven nature of the trail made it kind of tough. Right as we started, it began to rain. It was a light mist, so it actually ended up being kind of refreshing. It was bit annoying seeing it in front of your headlamp though.
There were a few wet sections that made for some puddle hopping alone the path. With the company of others and the fact that I couldn't see my watch easily, the run flew by. I decided to turn around with Angie at about the 1.75 mile marker. Even though I was feeling good, I didn't want to push it.
Coming back the time flew by as well. I had plenty of good conversations with Angie and we think we even saw a deer. Luckily, the drunk wasn't actually a problem when we got back. We relaxed at the SUV for a few minutes and waited for the rest of the group that was going to Sand Island. It took them longer than we expected.
The drunk was still wandering around, but not posing any problems. He was too wasted to do anything if he wanted. The group took another short break. Some of them had actually parked at Sand Island and got a ride back. I took a couple group photos and then drove Angie back to Scott Park. I'm actually glad I didn't have to wait around there for everyone else to finish. That would've taken awhile.
This was a fun run and I hope we do more. My legs weren't bothering me too much. Maybe the slower pace helped. Of course they weren't killing me too much last week during the run either, but then I couldn't recover well all week. I didn't stretch, use the foam roller or ice enough last week. This week I used the foam roller and soaked in an ice bath when I got home. They are painfully uncomfortable, but usually do the trick. I guess I'll see later in the week if it works.
Tomorrow will no doubt be an off day. Maybe some strides and drills or short hill sprints at best. I'm just going to work on running more often this coming week. I need to do shorter 1 or 2 mile runs like 4 days during the week. It might be tough with the high school league track meets coming up. Next weekend, we'll be camping in New Jersey for an auto race. I usually get it a fun night run there. There's a dirt path around the track, so it is a lot like tonight's run. The difference obviously being that I have no company.
It was a great run and nights like this really make it worth it. When I trained in Philly in 2009 and 2010, I did it all on my own. Combining socializing and training is so much more rewarding. I also know that it'll get me back to where I want to be and beyond much faster in addition to adding new friends. I look forward to many more group runs this summer and beyond.
3.5 miles - 35:56 (10:17 pace)
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